Things that Matter in Life
by Reese M
Summary: Infinite possibilities Infinite Realities. In this reality Janet Fraiser never died on P3X-666. Sam Carter saved her because in this reality they are together and in love. With Janet alive, what will life be like for her and Sam and their SG family? This story chronicles their lives together now that they have one. Continues from Saving Her is All that Matters & What Truly Matters
1. Chapter 1

Most of the time when they dialed the address of a populated planet that was either aware of the Stargate's function or had a certain degree of technological development that allowed them to understand it was a piece of technology and not a magic ring the SGC had to wait until the governments of those planets decided wither or not to meet with them. So while the SGC waited to hear from the government on P2S-4C3, SG1 was being sent to P8B-135. The people of P8B-135 were excited and welcoming. According to what they were sent via MALP the god Asclepius had founded the planet back when the goa'uld were seeding the galaxy with humans. P8B-135 was more technologically advanced than they were, but not in the normal way one would expect from a former goa'uld world. Their advancements weren't in weapons but medicine. Which is why Doctor Janet Fraiser would be joining them on their mission.

Ever since finding out about P3X-666 Sam was more than unsettled by the idea of Janet going off world. A future version of herself had sent them a message using sun flares and the Stargate, warning them of Janet's fate if they ever went to P3X-666 and after reporting the message to General Hammond and the rest of SG1 Hammond ordered the address locked out and marked as dangerous. Janet would not die on that planet, but what if they'd just detoured the inevitable? Sam groaned as she reached into her locker for her jacket. She needed to stop watching scary movies. None of them knew what was going to happen to them once they walked through the Gate. She couldn't always jump right to something bad happening. It's what she'd been doing since Hammond ordered SG1 to take Janet along, and it was causing problems because Sam's over protectiveness kicked and she'd been trying to talk Janet out of going.

Janet didn't get to go off world often and when she did it was normally to treat the wounded or sick. She was excited about making first contact with a planet whose focus was medicine. The idea of all the medical advancements made her feel like a child waiting on Christmas. She could understand Sam's concern; she felt that same fear every time Sam walked up the ramp to the Gate, but she'd never asked Sam not to go. Thankfully Sam had realized what she was doing and had apologized that morning, nearly causing them to be late, especially since Janet had needed to be in a little early to see Doctor Warner.

"There you are." Sam said when Janet finally made her way into the locker room. "Better hurry up, Doc. We leave in ten."

"The Colonel was being a pain in the ass." Janet griped as she reached into her locker for her BDUs.

"You know he does it to get a reaction out of you." Sam chuckled.

Janet smirked. "I know. Why do you think I always use bigger than necessary needles on him?"

Sam laughed. "You're an evil woman, Janet Fraiser."

There was a sparkle in Janet's eye as she smirked.

Since there wasn't any surveillance in the locker room and they were alone Sam dared to steal a quick kiss. "Ten minutes."

"I'll be there on time don't worry." Janet replied and then squeaked when Sam smacked her behind. "Samantha!"

Sam was still laughing as she walked out of the locker room and down the hall towards the Gate room. She stopped at the armory to pick up her weapons before continuing on. She was a little uneasy about only going with her sidearm and zat, but part of the agreement for this meaning had been no heavy weapons. This was a world of healing after all. They were allowed their side arms for their own personal sense of security.

"Hey Carter." Jack O'Neill called out as he walked up to meet her. "You know the Doc pretty well, right?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so, Sir." Sam said as she looked at her CO and friend with a careful gaze.

"Ok, so maybe you can explain something to me. Every once in awhile the Doc she gives me this weird look." Jack began telling her.

"What kind of look, Sir?" Sam asked, intrigued.

"Like she wants to go all stabby stabby on me with one of her honkin' big needles." Jack said as he mimed a stabbing motion with wide crazy looking eyes.

Sam managed not to laugh but there was clearly amusement in her bright blue eyes. "Stabby stabby, Sir?"

"Yeah! From the moment I walked in!" Jack huffed. "I hadn't even said hi yet. And it's not the first time either. She gives me that look every couple of months. It's really unsettling, Carter. What's with her?"

Sam had to think it over. Why would Janet give Jack murderous looks every couple of months? When it dawned on her she laughed. Jack shot her a look and she stifled the laugh as she explained, "You gave Cassie a dog, Sir."

Jack looked confused. "Yeah so?"

"Janet has allergies, Sir." Sam explained. "She didn't have the heart to tell Cassie she couldn't have the dog because she was allergic. Her allergy pills just weren't cutting it so she started going in for shots every couple of months. She was due for her allergy shot this morning. That's most likely why she's giving you stabby stabby looks."

"Ah." Jack said as he thought that over and then he smiled a bit of a smug smile.

Sam just shook her head.

Janet arrived with Daniel just in time. She shot Jack a look and then turned to look at Sam who'd snorted back a laugh. She wondered what that had been about but didn't get to much time to think about it. She and SG1 were soon walking up the ramp and through the Stargate.

She hadn't been sure what to expect on a planet dedicated to medicine, probably a lot of steel, glass and concrete with little sprigs of green like the massive medical compounds on Earth, but when they stepped out of the Stargate Sam was pleasantly surprised. They were in a beautiful open atrium with tall marble pillars, soft tinkling fountains, lush plants and butterflies. Butterflies? That was a first. For a moment as the team walked down from the dais Sam wondered how many of the little things had been taken out by the wormhole blast.

"Welcome to Kos most honored travelers." A bearded man in his late fifties said as he stepped up to SG1. "I am Kimon, First Physician of Thura City."

"Hiya." Jack greeted cheerily while taking his sunglasses off. "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill." He then began pointing out his team. "Major Samantha Carter. Daniel Jackson. Teal'c. And this is our Doc, Janet Fraiser M.D."

Kimon's attention went right to the petite woman and smiled as he stepped closer to her. "You are the physician?"

Janet beamed proudly. "I am, yes."

He bowed respectfully as he said, "Then you are most welcomed here Honored Physician."

"Thank you, Kimon." Janet replied as she returned the gesture of respect.

Kimon beckoned them to follow as he explained the agenda. A brief tour of the city as they made their way to the Agora for a meet and greet with other city officials and the team's respective counterparts. After refreshments they would be taken to view different aspects of the city. Daniel would be taken to the great library by one of their most accomplished scholars so he may study their historical texts. Jack and Teal'c would be taken to the city's military compound by one of their most decorated officers so they could see how that aspect of their society is handled. Kimon would stay with Janet and Sam and show them the medical and science achievements of their world.

When they began walking Janet was at Kimon's side, which gave Jack the chance to drop his voice and groan. "Most honored physician?" He grumbled. "This is only going to feed into her napoleon complex."

Sam wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or slug him so she remained as neutral as she could.

She took in their surroundings as they made their way through the city. It sort of felt like they were walking through a Mediterranean city, but there was also something very Eastern Zen about the place. Daniel had joined Janet and Kimon and she heard him say something about the name of the city translating into gate city. She smiled as she watched them. Janet and Daniel looked like children walking though Disney World with Mickey Mouse.

"If you nerd out on me Carter." Jack grunted. "I'm going to shoot myself in the foot."

Sam smirked. "This would be the planet to do it on, Sir. Lots of doctors and I'm sure they have some nice sized needles laying around." Jack glared at her and she managed to stifle a giggle.

The Greek Zen feeling continued during the meet and greet. The food and architecture of the building were very Greek isles while the drinks and clothing were more Eastern. There wasn't anything cold and clinical about anything so far, but that would surely change once they got to the hospital. Sam had yet to step foot in a hospital on any planet that wasn't kind of cold and smelled of disinfectant.

Following the reception the team broke up and went their separate ways. Sam and Janet went with Kimon to the city's primary hospital. As they made their way through the city he explained how they had smaller clinics around the city for more common treatments and wellness centers for good health upkeep. Janet explained they had something similar on Earth, but that their culture was still a little too much about treating after the fact instead of prevention and wellness but that it was starting to change. Kimon explained that every citizen of Kos, the planet was small and had three landmasses roughly the sizes of Australia, Asia, and the Untied States, received free health care. This astounded Janet and Sam and when they asked how that worked Kimon explained that funding came from the government and taxable resources as well as from off world exchange, and private endowments.

The moment they walked into the beautiful open and airy lobby of the hospital Sam couldn't stop herself from saying, "This is a hospital? Where's the smell?"

"Smell?" Kimon asked.

Janet looked a bit embarrassed. "Wither it's there or not most people believe all hospitals smell of disinfectant. Some medical facilities do and some don't, but the smell seems to be ingrained in the memory."

"Ah." Kimon said with a nod of acknowledgement. "Yes, my grandfather often spoke of a certain smell always reminding him of physicians." He then went on to explain to Sam why there was no chemical smell though he could not go into great detail since he was not an engineer. He promised to get her schematics of the system after Sam commented that something like that might help with the Mountain's ventilation system.

"Physician Kimon." A young woman said in greeting after the trio stepped off the lift. "Everything is ready as you requested."

"Marvelous." Kimon replied before turning to Janet and Sam and saying, "Ladies may I present my assistant, Aleni. Aleni, these are our guests from Earth. Doctor Janet Fraiser and Major Samantha Carter."

Aleni bowed in respect to Janet. "Welcome most Honored Physician Fraiser." Sam got less of a bow. "Welcome Major Carter."

When Kimon and Aleni stepped aside to speak privately for a moment Sam smirked at Janet. "You are so loving the reverence they have for doctors here."

Janet blushed. "A little." She admitted to her girlfriend. "It's a nice change of pace. I mean even you cringe at the thought of seeing me professionally."

Now Sam had a slight tint to her cheeks. "That has nothing to do with you being a doctor and more to do with you yelling at me for doing something reckless or stupid. Especially now, because you're not just yelling at me as my doctor."

Janet smirked. Since becoming Sam's girlfriend her scoldings had become a bit more severe, out of love of course.

"This way ladies." Kimon called out to them. "Let me show you one of our treatment rooms. "

The room was large, open, and almost airy despite not having any windows. The colors used in the décor were warm and comforting. In one corner of the room was a rock fountain, in another several planets. There was no exam table or hospital bed but rather comfortable looking plush couches and chairs. There wasn't a lick of stainless steel or chrome, no crinkly white paper or cold laminate floors, and no water stained ceiling tiles. The floor looked to be hardwood except for the center where there was a large glossy white patch of something that looked a bit out of place in such an organic looking room. Most of the ceiling was one large light fixture that gave off a soft warm glow. Right above the patch on the floor was a parallel patch of the same material. Along the walls were several discreet touch sensitive computer banks. The room felt more like a Japanese tearoom than a medical treatment room.

"This is your treatment room?" Janet asked in open-eyed wonder. "This is amazing."

Kimon smiled proudly. "Healing the body is not just about administering medication or performing a procedure. We must also tend to the mind and to the spirit. In this room family and friends are welcome to stay and support their loved one while they undergo treatment." Before Kimon had a chance to continue Aleni came in. She apologized and the leaned in close to Kimon to whisper to him. He nodded, gave her some instructions and then turned to Janet and Sam. "You'll have to excuse me for just a moment. One of my patients has awakened sooner than expected from his surgery. I must tend to him but I will be back shortly. Please make yourselves comfortable until I return."

"Of course Kimon." Janet said as she offered the bow of respect to let him know she understood patients' needs came before playing host.

Alone in the room Sam made a beeline for the computer displays. She bit her lip as she looked them over and raised her hand as if wanting to touch the screens.

Janet just walked around the room in utter awe. "Their medical advancement clearly goes beyond technology." Janet said as she took it all in. She was so busy looking at everything she hadn't noticed stepping onto the white square nor did she notice the pale grey circle suddenly swirling around her feet. "And we haven't even seen the technology yet!"

"This doesn't look anything like any goa'uld tech I know of." Sam said as the urge to touch became harder and harder. "I'm starting to wonder if maybe Asclepius was a Tok'ra."

"That's a possibility." Janet replied. "I'm sure Daniel will know more…" Her sudden feeling of surprise cut off Janet's sentence when the light directly above her brightened intensively. She was being scanned. "Sam?"

She would swear later that her hand slipped, that there was an involuntary twitch, but no one would believe her because her team knew Sam had a bad habit of pressing or touching random buttons. Sam had pressed a button wondering what it would do. When she heard Janet call out her name she turned just in time to see Janet being scanned. "Janet!"

Sam rushed towards Janet, stepping onto the white section of the floor, and into a second pale grey circle. The light above her grew in brightness and a fraction of second later she too was being scanned. Sam watched in dismay as the floor began morphing around Janet and herself. She was lifted upwards as the material incased her legs and grew up her back. She felt herself moving and saw Janet moving as well. They were being brought closer together. They reached out for each other, clasping hands. The material, which moved like liquid, spread faster and they were soon totally engulfed in some kind of double pod. Sam watched as Janet's eyes flashed wide in surprise moments before drifting closed. She had just the briefest of moments to wonder what had made Janet look so startled before she felt the same unexpected but not really painful pinprick. Then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

When Sam and Janet didn't make the appointed rendezvous Jack, Daniel and Teal'c went looking for them. When they arrived at the hospital Kimon had taken them to they were led to Kimon himself. He was standing in a hallway looking over patient notes. Jack knew this because he'd seen Janet look like that more often than he could count. He could also tell that something wasn't kosher. The First Physician looked rather distressed and more than a little nervous, and that was making Jack feel more then a little nervous. Walking up to the man Jack tried to keep his cool but his voice still came out as a booming bark, "Kimon?"

Kimon looked up. He licked his lips nervously and then snapped his professional mask into place. "Colonel O'Neill."

Jack gave the man his best you're giving me a weird vibe smile. "Major Carter and Doctor Fraiser were suppose to meet us back at the Agora half an hour ago."

"Yes, yes of course." Kimon said before tucking his touch screen clipboard under his arm. "I'm afraid something's come up. Major Carter and Doctor Fraiser won't be available for at least another two hours."

Daniel could tell Jack was about to bark again and stick his foot in his mouth so he quickly asked, "Why won't they be available, Kimon?"

"Come with me." Kimon said. "I'll explain everything."

Once the pod had closed around Janet and Sam and they were unconscious a transport beam had removed their clothing, transporting everything and their weapons to a cubbyhole in the back of the room near the planets. The pod's surface had frosted over from their collarbones down for modesty and privacy's sake, so all the guys could see where the heads and bare shoulders. The pod kind of looked like one of those weird love statues with the two figures entwined to form a heart. Jack stood there looking at the Carter Fraiser pod statue with unbelieving shock. "They're naked in there?"

"They'll be clothed when they emerge." Kimon reassured. "The computer will use the same process to put on recovery garb that it used to take their clothes off."

"So you didn't undress them?" Jack asked, his eyes glaring a warning.

Kimon looked insulted.

Again Daniel stepped in. "What happened, Kimon? What is happening to them?"

Kimon turned his focus to Daniel. "There was a miscommunication between my assistant Aleni and Administrator Yannis. When she requested a free treatment room for me, so that I could show Doctor Fraiser and Major Carter some of our more advanced medical technology, he told her this room was available. He was mistaken. This room had been prepared by one of my fellows for a procedure."

"Is that thing procedureing them now?" Jack demanded as he pointed at the pod.

"Yes." Kimon answered with a nod. "Doctor Fraiser and Major Carter are undergoing the procedure, but…"

"Stop it!" Jack ordered. "Right now, Kimon! Stop whatever it is you're doing to them!"

Kimon shook his head. "I can not do that, Colonel."

"Why the hell not?" Jack demanded.

"Because to stop the procedure now would do irrevocable damage to the mother." Kimon said firmly.

Jack was about to say something heated and rude but stopped cold. He shook his head as if trying to dislodge something from his ears. He licked his lips, titled his head and then said, "Did you just say mother?"

Even Daniel had been caught off guard by Kimon's statement and that caused a little bit of sputtering as he asked, "What exactly is happening to Janet and Sam?"

"Physician Ekaterini is a reproduction physician, our very best actually. He had the room programmed for conception therapy." The alien doctor explained.

There was more stunned silence from the SG1 men before Jack barked, "You're impregnating them with alien babies!?"

Again Kimon looked insulted. "Of course not, Colonel! That would be against our ethics!"

"I think we're going to need more details, Kimon." Daniel said easily. He was so use to defusing things when Jack was like this that it was second nature to him. "You said if we stopped the procedure it would harm the mother, singular, so only one of them is being what, exactly?"

Kimon took a breath and then again focused on Daniel. "According to the computer's readouts Doctor Fraiser is the recipient mother."

Jack was about to bark again but Daniel was quick with his, "Shut up, Jack." He didn't even have to look away from Kimon to do it. "Recipient mother? Ok, she's the one being impregnated?"

"Yes." Kimon answered.

"Who is she being impregnated by?" Daniel asked. "And what about Sam? What's happening to her?"

"Major Carter is the giving mother." Kimon answered.

Again stunned silence. Again it was Jack who barked, "Carter's knocking up the Doc!?"

This time Daniel was to astonished to step in and help the poor doctor out.

"I don't know what kind of cockamamie game you're playing at here buddy but we're not buying this crap." Jack said as he took a step closer to Kimon. "They're both women, they're both the female of our species, and two human females can't make a baby. It ain't possible. Now tell me what the hell you're doing to my people?"

Kimon huffed. He looked at his clipboard again to refresh the facts in his mind and then looked up at SG1. "Of the two mothers Doctor Fraiser is the one who is in the fertile stage of her cycle. This is why she was chosen to receive. Once that was established the computer began prepping Doctor Fraiser's body for implantation while preparing Major Carter's for donation of her genetic material. Ova cells were taken from Major Carter. One was used, along with an extraction of deep bone marrow, to produce stem cells, and the other used to code those stem cells with Major's Carter's reproductive genetic sequence while being nurtured into spermatozoon."

"Stop!" Jack said holding up his hand at the doctor before looking at Daniel. "Did he just say what I think he just said?"

"What do you think he said?" Daniel asked.

"That his magic machine turned Carter's inside girly pieces into inside boy bits?" Jack replied.

Daniel just sighed at Jack and pinched the bride of his nose under his glasses. Then he nodded and said, "Yes Jack. Part of the procedure involved changing Sam's egg into sperm."

Jack looked at Kimon with disbelief in his eyes. "No shit? You can do that? Really?"

Kimon nodded. "It is a very common way of having children for us. Doctor Fraiser and Major Carter are in no danger, Colonel. The process for two females is actually easier and safer than the process for two males."

"Wait you can…but how…that's…"

Daniel put his hand on Jack's shoulder and gently said, "Shut up, Jack. Stop thinking." When his friend stopped rattling off non-sentences and random words Daniel looked at Kimon and said, "Continue please."

"The only risk, and it's only a risk if you insist we stop, is in what's happening now." Kimon said while he checked on Janet's status. "Doctor Fraiser's ovum is being fertilized with Major Carter's converted sperm. This procedure insures a safe, healthy implantation of the zygote. Stopping now would cause damage to Doctor Fraiser's reproductive organ."

"Jack." Daniel said firmly. "We don't have the right to make that call for her."

Jack grunted and rubbed the back of his neck. His head hurt and that just made matters worse. When he spoke it was in a growling manner, "How did this even happen? Don't you have safety measures to stop this kind of thing?"

"Yes, of course." Kimon replied. "As I said, the room had been prepared for another couple. It's a private matter; a physician isn't required to be onsite. The couple initiates the program when they're ready. They're scanned and if everything is in order the procedure begins."

"What do you mean by if everything's in order?" Daniel asked.

"As I told Doctor Fraiser we do not just treat the body." Kimon explained. "We also care for the mind and the spirit of the person. Their memories and emotions are taken into consideration. If Doctor Fraiser and Major Carter weren't…"

Kimon used a Greek sounding word Jack didn't know so he looked at Daniel. "Huh?"

Lovers, married, soul mates would all fit the word Kimon had used. Daniel looked at Jack and said, "Doesn't matter. What's important is that he's saying the computer wouldn't have gone ahead with this whole thing unless Janet and Sam were ok with it at least on some deep level."

"Ah." Jack said with a nod. Then he rubbed the back of his neck again and grunted. "You're sure they're ok in that thing?"

"Yes, of course." Kimon said. "They're perfectly fine, Colonel."

Jack grunted again. "Two more hours?"

"For the procedure itself, yes. Insuring implantation is a delicate process, Colonel." Kimon replied. "Following the procedure there is some recovery time as well."

Jack grunted even more. "I need to check in with the General." Jack said as he looked at Daniel and Teal'c. Things had been strained between Teal'c and Sam following Cassie's illness and had only started to mend following Teal'c getting caught in the Stargate. Sam was ok with the big watching her six but with Janet and maybe a kid, well, better safe than sorry since Sam still wouldn't let Teal'c near Cassie. "You two stay with the girls. I'll be right back."

Daniel walked towards the pod and let himself smile. He couldn't think of any greater gift gate travel could ever give them. He knew how Janet and Sam felt about each other and for them to be given the chance to have a child together? It was a blessing beyond compare and he knew his friends would think the same. Deciding he'd invaded enough of his friends' privacy he moved back to the other side of the room where Teal'c stood. The two of them moved to just outside the room where Kimon was now looking over Janet's readouts. He had so many questions on so many topics but the friend in him was stronger than the scholar so his first question was, "You said this was common here. How long have you been doing procedures like this?"

"Quite awhile." Kimon answered. "In fact the first children born of early versions of this procedure are great grandparents now."

"So the children are, um, well, normal? Healthy?" Daniel asked.

Kimon nodded and reassured Daniel that the child would be fine.

Jack dialed home and then stepped up to the MALP to use to the radio. On the other side of the Gate Walter was announcing the incoming call and a few minutes later there was a stable video comm. connection. When Hammond appeared on the monitor Jack waved at the camera.

"What's going on Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"Well Sir we've hit a bit of a snafu." Jack replied.

Hammond instantly looked concerned. "What kind of snafu?"

Jack took his cap off, ran his hand though is hair, and then put his cap back on. "One better talked about in person Sir. I just wanted to let you know we're going to need a more time."

"How much more time?" Hammond asked.

"Three maybe four hours." Jack answered.

Hammond trusted his team enough to know when to ask questions and when to wait. "You have four hours, Colonel."

Jack nodded. "Yes Sir."

Two and half hours later there was a flash of bright light inside the pod. The rest of SG1 had been sitting on the sofa waiting after spending two hours salvaging what they could of this mission. The moment Daniel noticed the light he was on his feet, which got the other two on their feet. They watched as the pliable material that had created the pods began to morph, changing from the pod to a bed. Janet and Sam were now lying side-by-side wearing soft linen pajamas and covered with light blankets. The three guys went to the edge of the wooden floor, unsure about stepping onto the white high tech floor.

"Get Kimon." Jack ordered.

Daniel went to get Kimon and the two came back just as Sam began to stir. She moaned softly as her body fought off the sedative. Because of the naquadah in her blood she always reacted oddly to sedatives, needing more than a normal female her size. It left her feeling hung over when she finally came around and she hated feeling hung over. As her head began to clear Sam remembered the last few moments before blacking out. The memory of seeing Janet in what she preserved as danger made her bolt upright. "Janet!"

"Easy Major Carter." Kimon said gently as he put his hand on Sam's shoulder.

Sam's instincts kicked in and she bolted away from Kimon while reaching for a weapon that wasn't there.

"It's alright Carter." Jack said firmly but gently. "You're ok and so is the Doc."

Sam blinked as she looked towards the sound of Jack's voice. It took several blinks before she stopped seeing two of Jack. "Sir?"

Jack stepped closer and put his hand on Sam's arm to give her something real to anchor herself too while her head finished clearing. "Just take a second, Carter. Let the rest of the sedative wear off."

"Where's Janet?" Sam asked as she looked around the room.

Daniel smiled softly as he said, "Look down Sam."

Sam did and relaxed when she saw Janet lying next to her. She wanted nothing more than to reach out for Janet but she needed to be careful. She couldn't gather her lover into her arm and hold her but she could at least reach out and check for a pulse, first at Janet's neck and then her wrist. She let her hand wrapped around Janet's wrist a little longer then she needed too as she asked, "What the hell happened?"

Jack couldn't help but smirk.

"Jack." Daniel warned. "Be delicate about this."

Jack continued smirking as he slapped Sam on the back. "Congratulations ol' buddy ol' pal you're going to be a father."

Sam's eyes went wide before narrowing with confusion. "Sir?"

"It's a long complicated story, Sam." Daniel said with a bright smile. "Lets wait for Janet to wake up to cut down on the number of times we have to tell it."

They didn't have to wait to long for Janet. Twenty minutes after Sam woke up she began to come around. Her head was more than a little foggy but she was quickly able to figure out why. She'd been sedated. As she slowly climbed her way out of that sedation she began to take stock of herself. She didn't feel any pain, which was a good sign. Her body responded as she tried to move her finger, her hand, and a foot. She wasn't restrained, and she didn't seem to be in the pod thing that had grown around her body. Sam! Whatever had trapped her had trapped Sam too. Being very cautious of her movements Janet dared to open her eyes to see what was happening around her, to look for Sam. The last thing she was expecting to see when she opened her eyes was Sam's beaming face, but it was certainly most welcome.

"Hi." Sam said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Groggy." Janet answered. "Sam? Are you ok? What happened?"

Sam helped Janet to sit up as she replied, "I'm not really sure. We've been waiting for you to wake up."

Janet looked around the room. The rest of SG1 was there and so were Kimon and his assistant. There was something in their expressions, an uncertainty that made her wonder even more. What the hell had happened? Turning back to Sam she said, "The last thing I remember was being scanned and then having the floor come up around me."

"The flooring is made of a polymer that Colonel O'Neill says Major Carter will find most intriguing." Kimon said as he stepped up to Janet. "If I may Doctor Frasier, I'd like to perform a post procedure exam."

Janet's eyes widened. "Post procedure?" Her dark eyes darted to every face in the room before landing on Sam's. "What procedure?"

Sam shrugged. "They wouldn't tell me until you woke up."

"You should hear the news together." Daniel said as he smiled reassuringly at his friends.

"Ok, we're both awake." Janet said. "What's going on?"

"Well," Daniel said when it became clear Jack wasn't going to try and explain. "When Kimon brought you in to this room he was unaware that it had been prepped for another doctor, and somehow, we're still not sure how, the computer's preprogrammed procedure was activated."

Sam's eyes went wide for a fraction of a second.

"Carter." Jack said sternly. "What did you do? Carter! You pressed a button didn't you?"

Before Sam could reply Janet was again asking, "What kind of procedure?"

"A reproductive procedure." Daniel answered. "Janet's pregnant and Sam's the father."

The looks on Janet and Sam's faces were priceless.

After several second of staring in blind shock the two women turned to look at each other. They were both wondering if this was a dream and if it was which one of them was dreaming it. Several more seconds past as Janet and Sam just looked at each other, shock turning to awe. Then Janet turned back to the others with a look of disbelief and a touch of anger because this just wasn't possible, and that made it a cruel joke. "What you're telling us is impossible. Isn't it?"

Kimon began to explain how it was possible. Jack didn't want to hear it all again because it made his head hurt but the moment he opened his mouth to speak Janet held her hand up and made a kind of tut-tut sound that always made Sam stop dead in her tracks. Jack closed his mouth as if by magic. Janet took in every word the alien doctor said, giving her more details than before because she would understand, and when he was finally finished she looked at him with pure amazement. "That's incredible."

Now that he felt free to speak Jack looked at Daniel and Sam said, "Did she just mom me?" They were smirking at him. "She just momed me!"

"This wasn't how I wanted to demonstrate how some of our more technological procedures are done." Kimon said apologetically. "Because this was done to you accidently and without your consent if you want to terminate…"

"No!" Janet and Sam shouted in unison. They looked at each other again. Out of everything they'd seen, done, and survived this was the most miraculous. Since becoming a mother to Cassandra Janet had often wondered what it would be like to raise a child from infancy. She'd even considered the idea of adopting again someday. Lately she'd even wondered what it would be like to raise that child with Sam. Since Cassie's illness Sam had really taken on more of a parental role in the girl's life and Janet liked how she no longer felt as if she were on the mom journey alone. To raise a child with Sam that was equal parts her and Sam, it was to good to be true. Turning back to look at the others once more Janet said, "I won't, I could never… There will be no terminating the pregnancy."

Sam nodded her agreement. "I support Janet one hundred percent."

"I have so many questions." Janet said, her head spinning. "The baby's health, mine, Sam's…"

"I'm sure you do Doctor Fraiser." Kimon said. "I have a few of my own if you wouldn't mind. Major Carter has some unique anomalies I'd like to ask about." He noticed a certain look on Sam's face that made him add, "They were not passed on to the child because they were not natural to your genetic code."

Sam relaxed with a soft sigh. Having kids of her own had never really been a thing she'd ever given a lot of thought too, but every once in awhile when she did have a stray thought about maybe having them she wondered and worried about what the goa'uld protein marker she now carried and the naquadah in her blood would affect a baby. This unexpected turn of events was giving Sam the best of all possible possibilities. Not only would she have a child of her own, she'd share that child with Janet.

Jack checked his watch and said, "You two have an hour before we're do back. We'll give you some privacy."

They spent some of that time talking to Kimon. They both wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any issues regarding their own health, or the baby's. Kimon even showed them a scan imaged of the implanted zygote. The rest of the time Jack gave them they spent alone. Sam moved to sit beside Janet on the fancy polymer hospital bed and smiled as she watched Janet sitting there with her hands over her stomach, those doe eyes of hers closed to hide the emotions she was trying to sort through. "Not exactly the medical break troughs we came looking for." Sam joked softly. When Janet didn't respond Sam felt a suddenly tight knot in her stomach as she said, "Janet?"

Janet remained silent for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid if I open my eyes I'll find it was all a dream."

Sam gently took Janet's face in her hands and kissed her tenderly. When she pulled away Janet opened her eyes to look at her and Sam smile. "Not a dream."

Janet smiled as she leaned forward to rest her forehead against Sam's. They spent several quite moments like that until their radios squawked and Jack's voice crashed through the moment. It was time to head back. They changed back into their BDUs with nervous uncertainty. It wasn't until they were dressed in their military clothes again that they both realized they were going to have to explain this to the General, and perhaps to more powerful people. "Sam?"

"I know." Sam said softly. "We'll handle whatever comes together, Janet, I promise."

Janet gave a short nod of agreement.

When they got back to the SGC Jack asked that they not wait to be debriefed and that they meet in the privacy of Hammond's office. The three Air Force officers stood side by side in front of the desk with Daniel and Teal'c standing behind them.

"So will one of you tell me what happened?" Hammond asked.

Jack smirked. "Carter pushed a button, Sir."

Sam's eyes went wide as turned to shoot Jack a quick glare.

Hammond bit back a smile. "And what did this supposed button pushing do?"

All eyes were now on Janet since it was her news to tell. She did shoot them all a thanks for throwing me under the bus look before standing a little more at attention as she said, "I'm pregnant, Sir."

Hammond blinked. "Did you just say…"

"Yes Sir." Janet replied.

"You were only gone a day." Hammond replied. "And what does that have to do with Major Carter pressing a button?"

"The child's mine, Sir." Sam said and despite herself she smirked proudly.

"The Kosian's have a medical treatment, Sir, that allows to people of the same gender to procreate." Janet explained. She then went into more detail, with Sam and the others filling in the blanks. Finally she said, "The baby is mine and Major Carters, and I'm the one carrying it."

Hammond, like the others before him, was stunned into silence. Finally he said, "You're absolutely sure about all of this? About there being a pregnancy? About the parentage?"

"I'll run tests myself, Sir." Janet reassured. "But we have no reason to mistrust the Kosians."

Hammond nodded. He was quite again, lost in thought. Then he said, "For now keep this out of the official record and your reports."

"Sir?" Sam asked.

"As far as I'm concerned Major this is a family matter." Hammond said firmly. Meaning it would be best to keep this in house. "So lets keep it in the family so to speak."

Sam understood and it churned her stomach. "Sir, you don't think…"

"There are people we trust, Major." Hammond said. "And people we don't."

Sam nodded. "Yes Sir."

"Report to medical, all of you." Hammond ordered. "And Doctor, Major, I suppose congratulations are in order."

"Thank you Sir." Janet smiled.

Alone in this office Hammond slumped back against his chair and rubbed his head. "Well, I've now heard it all."


	3. Chapter 3

The moment Janet heard Walter's voice over the PA announcing the emergency medical code she was on her feet. Her medical mind dominated her thoughts as she put on her lab coat and walked out of her office. Exposure, contamination, radiation, all buzzed around in her head as she began compiling a list of treatments and actions to take once her patient arrived. Under the medical thoughts were Janet's soft whispers of concern, worry and fear. Which of her friends had been wounded? Jack? Daniel? Teal'c? Or worse had it been her lover? Was it Sam? The thought of it being Sam sent a spike of pain though her that felt like an electrical shock.

Just as she got to the door of the infirmary Daniel came around the corner of the bisecting hallway with her medics hot on his heels. He paused, his eyes going wide at the sight of her. It was Daniel. Daniel's her patient this time.

"No!" Daniel shouted as he shook his head. "No! Janet! Move! Get away from me!" There was panic, fear, and anger in Daniel's voice. Janet barely moved to step forward towards him when he yelled at her, "Janet get the hell out of the way!"

The look in his eyes made Janet move. Rather then going towards her friend she moved away from him. As a doctor, as Daniel's friend, moving away was painful and it showed in her eyes along with her confusion. Only when she was far enough away did he run past her and towards the decontamination room. The medics remained with him but the rest of SG1 and General Hammond stopped in the hallway just outside the door as she moved towards them again.

Sam saw the look in Janet's eyes and explained, "He could still be radioactive." Then she dropped her voice to a whisper and added, "The baby."

The baby! Janet's eyes went wide and her hand went to her stomach. Being pregnant was still such a new concept to her that she'd forgotten, and she'd reacted to the medical call without thinking or taking precautions. "What happened?" Janet asked, while berating herself for not thinking. Sam began to explain and as she did Janet's shock and dismay played out over her face. "Oh no."

"Doctor?" Hammond asked gently. It was bad if Janet let her professional mask slip away so easily.

She couldn't say it. This was Daniel, their Daniel. She couldn't say the words. Not about him.

"It was a lethal dose, Sir." Sam said softly.

Janet barked orders from the sidelines. She couldn't get anywhere near her friend until they were absolutely sure he wasn't radioactive, and even then she'd be caution and wear protective gear. The shock of nearly exposing herself and her unborn child would remain fresh in her mind now. She dealt with the unknown everyday and this just reminded her that she needed to be extra careful. Once Daniel was declared safe Janet was at his side, looking him over with her own critical eye, and it was breaking her heart.

"Janet." Daniel called weakly from his bed.

Looking up from his latest test results Janet smiled reassuringly as she moved closer so he could see her. "I'm here Daniel."

She hadn't left his side for more than twenty minutes since she was able to safely be with him. "You need to sleep."

"I will." Janet said as she carefully slipped her fingers around his.

He smiled one of his cutest little smiles at her. "You need to sleep." He repeated. "For the baby."

"Soon." She promised. She gave him a soft smile of her own as she brushed very gently at his hair. "You first."

Their eyes locked and he squeezed her fingers as best as he could. "I'm sorry." He said, his voice thick with tears. "I'm sorry I won't be here to meet her."

"Daniel." Janet whispered hoarsely. Her dark eyes began to burn with tears she wasn't sure she could fight back.

"She will be beautiful and brilliant." He told her. "Like her mothers."

All Janet could do was nod. The lump in her throat was too painful to speak around.

He squeezed her fingers again. "There is gift for her, in my apartment on the shelf in the closet. I couldn't help myself."

"Daniel I…"

He watched the tears roll down her cheeks. "Go get some sleep, Janet. I'm not going anywhere just yet. Please."

Leaning down she kissed his forehead. A tear feel onto his cheek and she brushed it away before finally doing as he asked. Janet kept her head down so no one could see her face as she went to her quarters. As the two senior ranking female officers she and Sam didn't have to bother with the barracks, they shared one of the larger private rooms. It had always been a blessing and as she practically threw herself into the room and the sanctuary of it's closed door, Janet was even more grateful. Her hormones were making it so much harder to keep her mask in place.

Jack was her friend, Teal'c was her friend, but Daniel was more than just a friend. Daniel was her brother. Sam could talk to Daniel, relate to Daniel and he to her, in ways that they wouldn't with the rest of the team. What would she do without him? Who would help her figure out why Janet was mad at her? Who would she commiserate with when Jack was bored and getting on their nerves? Who would make her laugh at the most inappropriate times by making a smartass remark to counter Jack's smartass remarks? Sitting in the observation booth Sam watched as Janet's nurses did their best to keep Daniel as comfortable as they could. They hadn't once looked in her direction but she still waited until their backs were to her before she'd reach up wipe angrily at her tears. Sam didn't need to take her gaze from Daniel to know when she walked in. She could feel her even before Janet put her hand on her shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked softly.

"Better." Janet replied. "I slept for a little awhile."

Sam nodded. "I know. I sat with you for a bit." Janet squeezed her shoulder and Sam reached up to put her hand over her lover's. "How is he?"

"Sedated." Janet answered, her voice thick with emotion and her dark eyes shimmering with tears. "We're making him as comfortable as possible." Her voice cracked. "It's going to get worse, unbearably worse, and there's nothing I can do."

Sam turned to look up at her. "You're doing what you can, Janet. He knows that."

"None of the new stuff we got from Kos helped. I sent a message asking if they had anything there that could help. We haven't heard from them yet." Janet said sadly.

"We're still waiting to hear from the Tok'ra too." Sam said as she turned back to look down at Daniel. They were silent for a while before she finally gave in to some of her anger since she knew it was safe to do so with Janet there to anchor her. "It's not fair, Janet. He saved thousands if not millions of people and they won't even acknowledge it. Rather than calling him a hero they're using him as a scapegoat. It's just not fair!"

Janet squeezed Sam's shoulder again before letting her hand slid to Sam's back where she rubbed circles. "I know it's not Sam. I agree. But the people who know him, who love him, we know, and we'll remember what he did was heroic."

The team took turns sitting with him and Janet barely left his side. If it weren't for the pregnancy she wouldn't have left the room at all. She watched as Jack, Teal'c, and even General Hammond came in to say their goodbyes, to tell Daniel what he meant to them. When the General's voice cracked while calling Daniel son for the last time she had to turn away to hide her own tears. When Sam came in to tell Daniel just want he meant to her Janet looked up just as Sam was asking why they never said it out loud before. She heard her wonder what kind of world forced them to conceal the best parts of themselves. When Janet looked up Sam was looking at her, and for a moment she thought Sam was going to blow their secret. She could see it in Sam's eyes; it was on the tip of the blonde's tongue, but then Jacob rushed in with the rest of the team.

They lay wrapped in each other's arms, Janet's head resting on Sam's chest, but neither was asleep. They were lost in thoughts, memories, and emotions that seemed to numerous to shift through. Daniel had ascended. He made the choice to leave them, to move on to a high plane of existence, to begin a new journey. They should be happy for him, and maybe after the anger and grief faded they would be. For all intents and purpose he was dead, gone to them forever, and it had been his choice to go, to leave them all behind. Jack had tried to sooth hurt feelings by reminding them that Daniel had always been the one to remind them all of their humanity, and that maybe he could do the same for the Ascended Ancients. Sam was finding it hard to care about Ancients or the Langarans, and honestly after having to tell Cassandra her Uncle Daniel was dead Sam secretly hoped the Langrans would blow themselves to hell with their top-secret naquadria bomb. She'd feel guilt for that later because Daniel had sacrificed himself for the bastards, but for now Sam clung to her anger.

Janet went with SG1 to Daniel's apartment to help pack it up. They talked and shared stories about their friend, their brother. It was the closest thing they got to a memorial service. In a moment of quiet Janet took Sam's hand and led her into Daniel's bedroom.

"Janet?" Sam asked, puzzled as she watched Janet go to Daniel's closest.

Janet stood on her tiptoes as she looked for what Daniel had told her was there. A soft sad smile pulled at her lips as she pulled the gift box printed with tiny pink baby feet down and then placed it on the bed. "He told me it was here."

Sam smiled a small but genuine smile as she stepped over to stand beside Janet. "He was so happy when he told us."

"I'm glad it had been him." Janet admitted. She dropped her voice to almost a whisper as she said, "He knew about us, you know."

"I know." Sam replied. She reached out and rubbed Janet's back and after a moment she said, "Open it."

"Now?" Janet replied as she looked up at Sam. "It's so early, Sam. I mean if we hadn't been told the moment it happened we wouldn't even know I was pregnant just yet."

"We can wait." Sam said easily. "If that's what you want."

Janet thought about it for a moment and then reached out and began taking the top off the box. The sound of Sam's soft laugh warmed the cold she'd been feeling inside. Pushing the tissue paper out of the way Janet reached for the contents of the box.

The first item was a beautiful leather bound baby book that looked like one of Daniel's leather field journals. Inside was a note in Daniel's handwriting, 'Since I don't know her name yet I'll have it added after she's born. D.' On the first page he'd written, after leaving room for a first name, 'Life is an incredible adventure. It's rarely easy but always worth it because sometimes the most remarkable things happen, like you. So let the adventure begin.'

Not caring that Jack, Teal'c and Hammond were in the other room Janet turned into Sam's embrace while clutching the book to her chest. Sam held her tightly for several seconds before reaching for the last item, a pink blanket. It was the softest thing Sam had ever felt and in one of the corners the Gate symbol for Earth, for home, was stitched into it. Sam rubbed her thumb over the familiar glyph and let her tears fall.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't the warm morning sun coming through the window that woke Sam from a peaceful sleep. It was the string of creative swear words coming from the bathroom in between the clear sounds of retching. Janet's body had finally caught up with the implantation and she was finally showing first trimester symptoms. Fatigue, morning sickness, and sore breasts had set in over a week ago. It was the first real experience outside of medical tests that proved Janet was pregnant. Slipping out of their shared bed Sam padded across the room to the bathroom. She stood outside the door for several moments listening to the creative way with words Janet suddenly seem to have. She couldn't explain it but Sam found Janet swearing one of the most adorable things ever. When Janet became quiet on the other side of the door Sam finally opened it and walked in. Dark eyes looked up from a pale face and Sam suddenly understood what Jack was talking about when he mentioned Janet's stabby stabby look.

Bright blue eyes darted around the bathroom to make sure there wasn't anything sharp while Sam retrieved a washcloth, which she wet with cold water. Kneeling down in front of her girlfriend Sam gently used the washcloth to wipe away the sheen of sweat from Janet's forehead, and then pressed it against the back of Janet's neck. The whole time Janet just stared at her with those beautiful dark eyes. Sam smiled sweetly. "I love you."

"Bite me." Janet replied grumpily.

Sam managed to hold back a laugh but she couldn't stop from smirking which made Janet huff at her. Leaning in she pressed a kiss to Janet's forehead and then stood to turn on the shower. Thankfully Janet seemed to have actual morning sickness and was normally fine after a shower and bland breakfast. Once the water was just right Sam helped Janet out of her nightshirt and panties before taking off her own tank top and boy shorts. She pulled the smaller woman into the shower with her and then reached for Janet's shampoo.

Grumpiness aside Janet knew she was blessed when it came to Sam. Sam took care of her and it meant a lot to Janet. She was normally the nurturing one, the one who looked after everyone else; it was nice to be the one being looked after for a change. Sam made sure she was getting enough rest, and was eating right. She would make sure Janet had a ready supply of crackers and ginger ale and would rub her feet every night when they got home. When she spent her mornings throwing up Sam would be there to comfort her just as she was now. Feeling Sam's hands in her hair, massaging her scalp and combing through her wet locks, Janet couldn't help but close her eyes and sigh softly. When Sam was finished with her hair she moved on Janet's body and by then Janet was feeling much better.

When she felt Janet finally relax Sam smiled. "Feeling better?"

"Much." Janet moaned. "Thank you."

"It's the last I can do." Sam said honestly. "I'm the reason you're in this situation after all."

Janet laughed softly. "It could have easily been the other way around if you'd been the one ovulating instead of me."

"Yeah but I'm still the one who couldn't resist the shiny control panel." Sam chuckled.

"Thank goodness for curiosity." Janet said as she turned in Sam's arms so she could kiss her.

After breakfast Janet reminded Cassandra that she wanted her home for dinner. Now that Janet was showing active signs of her pregnancy they couldn't continue hiding it, and the first person outside of SG1 and Hammond they were telling was Cassandra. They were both a little worried about her reaction, but Cassie had proven in the past that when it was all said and done what she wanted most was for her parents to be happy. Janet was confident that if they made sure Cassie understood that this wouldn't change how they felt about her, everything would be fine.

"Spending another day in your lab?" Janet asked as they made their way through security check points.

Sam nodded as she took her id badge back from the airman working the last checkpoint before they could get to the elevator. "The General wants Jack to pick a fourth before he puts SG1 back on active off world duty, but Jack's dragging his feet even with the threat of having a Russian put on the team."

"It's got to be hard." Janet said softly. "Filling Daniel's slot on the team must feel like he's replacing him, which just can't be done."

"No it can't." Sam said firmly. "Which is why I don't understand why we have too. There's no rule saying SG teams have to have four members."

"True." Janet said carefully. "But SG1 is our elite team and without Daniel you're kind of missing some key skills."

Now it was Sam giving the heated glares. "Janet. Don't."

Janet just held up her hands as if to say she meant no harm. "Sam, you know I miss him too. Daniel is irreplaceable in our lives. But," She said carefully as they waited on the elevator doors to close. "You know he wouldn't want this. He would want the team at it's best." Sam was glaring at her so she sighed softly. "All I'm saying is that if the right fit comes along…"

When the elevator doors opened moments later Jonas Quinn was standing there with his arms full of books and notebooks and a smile. "Good morning Major Carter, Doctor Fraiser."

Janet returned the smile. She wasn't immune to the sting of resentment they all felt towards Jonas, the natural desire to blame him for Daniel's death, but she was a little more willing to at least be kind to him. He was for all intents and purposes a political refugee, having given up his ability to return home when he brought them naquadria Sam was now playing with in her lab. "Good morning Jonas."

Sam muttered a greeting to Jonas before heading down the hall towards the locker room to change out of her street clothes.

"Was it something I said?" Jonas asked, looking a little hurt.

Janet gave him a warm reassuring smile as she shook her head. "No Jonas, it wasn't you. It was something I said. So, what are you reading now?"

Jonas lit up as he walked Janet to the infirmary while telling her about the new books he'd discovered over the weekend.

Sam wasn't trying to intentionally freeze Jonas out. He was a nice enough young man, bright, clever, kind of sweet even. It's just that she missed Daniel so badly it was still a deep ache. She missed going to his office for the good coffee. She missed sharing meals with him in the canteen. She missed the way they had conversations in broken half sentences and unfinished thoughts and yet understood every thing the other was trying to get across. She missed his smile, his laugh; the way he said shut up Jack and don't be an ass Jack. She missed his silent support of her and Janet. She missed the way he'd bring her blue jello whenever he wanted something from her.

The instant she thought about the blue jello a fountain glass of it was pushed in front of her. Sam's eyes went wide and her head snapped up. She damn near said his name before she realized it was Janet smiling back at her.

"Peace offering." Janet said softly. "I didn't mean to upset you this morning."

It took a few moments for Sam to get it together. She pulled the offered treat closer and picked up the waiting spoon. "I still miss him." She said softly. "I haven't missed someone like this since my Mom."

"I know." Janet said as she put her hand on Sam's back. "I miss him too."

"I thought it was getting a little better." Sam said after a couple of bites of her jello. "I don't know why I'm feeling it so badly today."

"I think it's because we're planning on telling Cass." Janet said after a moment of thought. "Life is moving on and he isn't here to move on with us."

Sam thought that over for a moment and nodded. There was a flicker of anger in her eyes, not uncommon while grieving. "Damn him."

Janet rubbed Sam's back and just stayed at her side for a little while. That evening after her shift as she walked past Daniel's office, well Jonas' office now, she paused when she heard Sam's voice.

"Hand me that piece there."

"This one?" Jonas replied.

"No the other one." Sam said. "Yeah that's it."

Janet peeked into the room and smiled as she watched Sam helping Jonas set up a large fish tank.

"Sorry I'm late." Sam said as she walked into the kitchen later that night. "Cass home yet?"

"She's upstairs working on her homework." Janet answered as she turned away from cleaning up prep-dishes. Unlike Sam she was a clean as you go cook. Sam was a bitch and clean after dinner cook. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah." Sam said with a blush. "I just got, um, tangled, in a project."

Janet smirked. "Oh? What kind of project?"

Sam blushed a little more. She invented and built things like naquadah genitors but a salt-water fish tank gave her a hard time. She wasn't admitted to that. "Nothing important. So when are we telling Cassie? Before or after dinner?"

"After." Janet answered. "You should go get cleaned up it's almost ready."

"Yes ma'am." Sam said with a salute before stealing a kiss and heading upstairs.

After dinner Janet and Sam retreated to the living room while Cassie cleaned up the rest of the dinner dishes. When the teenager came through when she was finished Janet said, "Cassie, come here a minute. Sam and I need to talk to you."

The last time they said that to her they'd told her about Daniel so when Sam saw the look of fear flash in the girl's eyes she added, "It's nothing bad, kid. Relax."

"You're not breaking up are you?" Cassie asked as she sat between her mom and Sam.

"What?" Janet replied. "No, honey, no. Didn't Sam just say it wasn't something bad?"

"Ok." Cassie replied. "So what's up?"

"Awhile ago your Mom went with SG1 on an off world mission." Sam began. "It was a first contact mission to a world who specializes in medical technology."

"It was remarkable, Cassie." Janet said before geeking out. Several minutes later she noticed Sam and Cassie were looking at her with odd little smiles. "What?"

"You geeked out like Sam does." Cassie chuckled. "It was cute!"

Janet blushed. "Anyway," She said. "One of the many advancements they have is in reproduction. We found out about this advancement thanks to Sam."

"Seriously?" Sam said as she looked over Cassie's head at Janet. "Are we going to spend the rest of our lives starting this story with Sam pressed a button?"

"You did press a button!" Janet laughed. "I swear between you, Daniel, and Jack you share this compulsion, it's like toddlers drawn to a blinking light."

Cassie looked between the two women with a soft smile. She loved watching them together. They made each other so happy. "So what did Sam do when she pressed the button?"

"I kind of activated this seriously advanced medical technology that preformed this really complex medical procedure on your Mom and me." Sam explained. She paused to work out the best way to phrase the next part and then said, "Cass, I kind of got your Mom pregnant."

For several seconds all Cassie could do was look between the two before her gaze finally rested on Janet. "You're pregnant?"

Janet bit her bottom lip nervously as she nodded. "Yes, sweetheart. You're going to have a little sister."

Again she looked between the two before asking Sam, "How?"

Sam did her best to explain to Cassie how she and Janet were having a child that was biologically both of theirs. It was so far from anything they thought possible that it still sounded unbelievable, no matter how many times she explained it.

Cassie grew quiet after that.

Sam and Janet shared a look before Janet took Cassie's hand in her own and said, "Honey, this doesn't change anything between the three of us. We love you Cassandra. You're our little girl. My having a baby and it being Sam's, that doesn't make you any less our daughter. You're ours just as much as this baby is."

Cassie remained quiet for a little while longer as she processed what she'd been told.

Her mothers were growing more and more concerned. "Cassie?" Sam said softly. "Kid, you ok?"

Finally Cassie sighed as if she were relieved. "Oh thank god."

Sam and Janet both blinked, confused by Cassie's reaction. Sam was the one who asked, "Cass?"

"I was so worried." Cassie admitted.

"Worried about what?" Janet asked, holding a little tighter to her daughter's hand.

"The two of you." Cassie answered. "I'll be going to college soon. I was worried that if I wasn't around you'd both go back to being like you were before."

"Like we were before?" Janet asked.

Cassie nodded. "All about work and stuff, and if that happened, if you went back to only focusing on work, you might loose each other."

"Oh sweetheart." Janet said softly as she hugged Cassie.

"You did change things for us, Cass." Sam said as she reached out to run her hand down Cassie's hair. "You did make us have to step back and look at things differently. And we will always be grateful for that, but you know putting in the work to make us as a couple is up to us, it's not anything you or the baby have to worry about."

Janet nodded her agreement. "You're one of the things that brought us together Cassandra that's true but it's up to me and Sam to stay together."

"None of us know what the future will be like." Sam said. "Personally I want to watch your Mom's hair turn gray, I want to be around to see if she gets any shorter with age,"

"Hey!" Janet protested.

"I want to be one of those old couples sitting in a diner bitching at each other." Sam continued. "But no matter what happens between me and Janet, we'll always be there for you. We promise."

Janet nodded her agreement to that. "Promise."

Cassie took in what her parents were saying and nodded. She hoped they were forever. That kind of love and friendship should be forever. "Are you sure it's a girl?"

"Positive since neither of us carry the Y chromosome to pass on." Sam answered.

"Cool." Cassie said as a smile started to bloom on her lips. "Do I get paid for babysitting?"

They talked a little longer, making sure Cassie understood the cover story, which was that Janet decided she wanted to have a child and took the available medical measures to have one on her own. Sam, being her best friend who was already helping out with Cassie, was going to help co-parent the new baby too. Cassie thought that was totally unfair but understood why it had to be like that. Once she headed upstairs Sam and Janet moved closer on the sofa and Janet cuddled into Sam's side. "That went better than expected."

Sam nodded. "One down one to go. We still need to tell my Dad."


	5. Chapter 5

This wasn't exactly how Sam wanted to tell her father about the baby, not that she had any kind of plan in mind, but telling him while on a mission that just kept going from bad to worse wasn't really even an option. Still, Sam needed to tell him just in case. Investigating a derelict ship had turned into retrieving a friend's downloaded mind, evading Jaffa, and basically just trying to stay alive. With a simple look she'd been able to get Jack to take Davis to check something out away from the bridge of the ship so she could have a moment with her dad. Pulling out her medkit Sam began treating the wound Jacob took when the ninja type Jaffa had attacked him. In that moment alone Jacob had been able to finally ask Sam what was on her mind. Sam smiled; it was nice to know he could read her despite the rocky road their relationship had taken.

"Dad, are you aware of a goa'uld turned Tok'ra called Asclepius?" Sam asked as she cleaned his wound and dressed it.

Jacob was quiet for a moment as he consulted with Selmak. Then he nodded, "He was one of Egeria's consorts. He was, for a lack of a better word, a healer. The healing device we use derives from his early work."

Sam smiled and nodded. "We found one of the planets he use to rule, Kos. It's a planet that specializes in medical tech."

"Really?" Jacob said with interest. "We'd heard rumors but haven't had the time to really investigate."

Her father got that look that said he was having an internal conversation with Selmak. She didn't have time for them to finish so she continued, "We made first contact and since it's a medical planet we took Janet." She gave him the abridged version of what happened while on Kos. Finishing with his wound she sat back on her heels as she said, "The baby is biologically Janet's and biologically mine." She gave her dad a shy smile that always reminded Jacob of Debra not that he'd ever told her that. "I'm going to be a mom."

Jacob sat there in silence as he stared at his daughter with a bit of surprise and awe. "Sam, that's…"

The rest of their conversation was cut off when the alarms went off. Sam helped her dad up and over to the control panel. Before they'd ringed the Jaffa over to Teal'c they managed to sabotage the ship. They were headed right for Earth. They were going to crash. Sam didn't want to leave the ship without Thor, so they split up. Sam and Jack went after Thor while Davis helped Jacob to the rescue ship. In the seconds before she thought she was going to drown in the submerged ship's computer core Sam's thoughts went to Janet, Cassie and the baby. She was glad she told her dad. At least he'd know he had another grandchild if anything happened. He would take care of Janet for her, he'd look out for her family.

Thanks to Jonas, their brand new SG1 teammate, nothing happened. Sam would be going home to those she loved, though she wouldn't be going swimming any time soon. When they finally made it back to the SGC Sam was taken right to the infirmary where Janet was waiting with her best, 'Really Sam? Really?' face in place. Sam gave her one of her best most charming you love me smiles and Janet just groaned and shook her head.

Selmak had healed Jacob so he was in good shape, but Sam was a bit banged up and water logged so Janet had her confined to the infirmary running tests. Sam always kind of wondered if Janet's endless test running was her version of a security blanket. The thought made her smile.

"What are you smirking about?" Janet asked as she walked over to Sam's bed and reached for her wrist to take her pulse.

"Nothing." Sam replied as she continued smirking.

"Mmhm." Janet replied with a smile that let Sam know just how relived she was that Sam was home and safe and no worse for wear.

Before Sam could say anything more Jacob walked in. "How ya feelin' kid?"

"Pruney." Sam said as she held up her wrinkled fingers.

When Jacob looked up at her Janet smiled reassuringly. "Sam's fine, Sir."

"Good." Jacob said as he squeezed his daughter's hand. "Can we have a minute?"

Janet nodded with a warm smile. "Of course, Sir."

"Janet." Jacob said a little uneasily. "Quit calling me Sir. I'm retired remember. Besides, from what Sam's told me we're about to family, sorta, so Jacob's just fine."

Janet couldn't hide her surprise.

"Yeah, I kind of told him." Sam said sheepishly. "I'd have told you sooner but you kept poking me with sharp things."

Janet smiled. She smiled in a way that made Jacob wonder if there was more between her and Sam than just this unexpected pregnancy. Once he was alone with his daughter Jacob took her hand and said, "Not going to pretend this whole thing isn't weird, it is, but I need you to promise me something Sam."

"If I can Dad." Sam replied.

"I am so proud of you, kid, you have no idea how much." Jacob began. "But don't keep following in my footsteps, Sam. What we're doing out here, yeah it's pretty damn amazing, but nothing out there will compare to being a parent. Don't do what I did, Sam. Put your kid first, above the Air Force, above the Stargate, you put that kid first."

It wasn't just his words but the sincere look of regret in her father's eyes that made Sam nod. "I will, Dad. I promise."

"Good." Jacob replied before leaning in to kiss her forehead. "I gotta go kid. I wish I could stick around but…"

"I understand." Sam reassured.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Jacob promised. As he left he walked by Janet in the hall. They both paused to share a look. Again he wondered about this woman and his daughter. Finally he said, "Take care of them."

"Always." Janet promised.

Jacob nodded. "If you need me don't hastate."

Janet nodded. They parted ways and she returned to Sam. She paused in the doorway to watch for a moment. Sam seemed to be lost in thought and it made Janet wondered what Jacob had said. When Sam turned to look at her Janet smiled. "Hi."

"Hey." Sam replied.

"Everything ok?" Janet asked as she walked up to the bed.

"Yeah." Sam nodded and smiled. "It's good. No worries."

Her dad was right. Sam needed to make sure she was putting her family first. She continued going off world but only with SG1, no more side trips with other teams unless absolutely necessary. When SG1 wasn't off world she worked in her lab and at the end of her shift she went home. Home was now officially at Janet's. She used the excuse that following Simmons bugging her house and being kidnapped by Conrad she just didn't feel like always being alone, so she sold her house and moved into Janet's. That way she could help the single mother out now that she'd decided to have a baby on her own. No one outside of SG1, Hammond, Jacob and Cassie knew the true parentage of Janet's baby. As far as the rest of the world Janet had decided she wanted another child and she wasn't going to wait around to do it.

Hiding the fact that Sam was the baby's other parent bothered Janet, it hurt her, and it made her angry that they had to hide it. She understood that there were dangerous elements out there that they had to protect the baby and themselves from, but it was just so unfair, so unjust that Sam was being denied her right to claim the baby openly. Sam tried to reassure her, told her that it was all right and that the people they loved and trusted knew the truth and that was good enough for her, but it wasn't good enough for Janet. She loved Sam and their baby was a blessing. She just wanted to acknowledge her family like everyone else.

Sam wanted that too and it did hurt that she couldn't openly proclaim the baby and Janet as hers. The only thing that kept her from crumbling under the weight of so many secrets was a sliver of hope that maybe someday things would change. All they would need was the right catalyst and things would change.

"What ya got there Carter?" Jack asked as he walked up to her as she made her way down the corridor.

"A float Sir." Sam answered as she looked down at the large takeout cup in her hand.

"Ooo I love a good root beer float." Jack said with a smile.

Sam smirked. "It's not root beer, Sir."

"Coke floats are ok." Jack said with a hint of disappointment.

Sam laughed. "It's grape soda and peanut butter ice cream, Sir."

Jack pulled a face. "Did that last zat blast destroy your taste bubs, Carter?"

"No Sir." Sam replied, still laughing. "It's for Janet."

"Ahh!" Jack said with understanding. "Hit that phase has she. Well good luck Carter. That phase can get a little weird. At one point Sara was putting Thousand Island dressing on everything, everything Carter, cheesecake, brownies, ice cream, pickles, sardines, mangos." Jack shuddered. "MREs."

Sam blinked at that one. "Rations Sir?"

Jack nodded. "She couldn't get enough of 'em."

Sam pulled a face and then decided not to think Janet's PB&amp;J floats were weird anymore. She found it more than a little surprising that Jack had just shared something about Sara with her. He didn't talk about his family, about Sara or Charlie. It made Sam feel special that he did. She worried about Jack. She knew he'd had feelings for her, though she had wondered how much of that was actually about her and how much had been him drawn to any traits she might have had with Sara, there were certain physical similarities. Sam worried that Jack would be alone. She had Janet, Teal'c had Ishta, and Jonas was still young enough to play for a while longer. Jack needed someone too.

"Ophelia?" Janet said as soon as Sam walked into her lab. She didn't even have to look up from her microscope and blood samples to know she'd walked in. When she did look up she smiled at the sight of the cup in Sam's hand. "Ooo give me."

"No." Sam answered then chuckled as she handed over the drink. She saw a little pile of what looked like meat strips on a plate within Janet's reach and asked, "What are you eating?"

"Don't remember the name but it's the Jaffa equivalent of jerky." Janet answered before sipping her drink. "Teal'c got it for me. It's not half bad when you candy it like bacon with brown sugar. "What about Helen?"

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I like that so maybe. Should you be eating that? What about Grace or Evelyn?"

Janet shook her head. "Not Evelyn but Grace could be pretty for a middle name. Ashley? Naomi?"

"I've always liked Ashley but no to Naomi." Sam replied.

They'd been bouncing around names since Janet began showing and nothing seemed to feel right. They had a no list and a maybe list, but nothing on the yes list. Jacob had wanted a boy and Debra thought Samantha sounded pretty. Janet was a form of Jane and a way around her great grandmother's declaration of, "Don't go naming that child after me just because I'm old and dying!" She wasn't dying and had lived well into Janet's young adulthood. "There's always Cassie's suggestions."

Janet leveled a look at Sam that made her laugh. "We are not naming our daughter Minnie or Terlene. Honestly where does she come up with these names?"

"The Colonel is still pushing for Jackie." Sam laughed.

"We'll know her name when we're meant too." Janet replied easily. "But it won't be after the Colonel."

"He'll be so disappointed." Sam chuckled.

"Sucks to be Jack." Janet laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

As it got closer to time for Janet to have the baby everyone did what he or she could to make sure Sam was on Earth. They didn't want Sam to miss the birth of her daughter, Sam didn't want to miss it, and Janet out right refused to do it without her. The guys all thought it was cute how Janet swore she would not be having this baby without Sam, they didn't know just how serious she was. After being high jacked on the Prometheus, drafted by Thor, held captive by Nirrti, that one really set Janet off given her personal past with that particular goa'uld, Sam asked to be taken off active off world duty. Hammond had been more than willing to agree. Unfortunately no one told a rather annoying minor goa'uld who decided to impress the system lords by attacking a rebel Jaffa camp. Teal'c was missing, so was Ishta. Bra'tac came to them to tell them what happened and off Sam went with Jack and Jonas to rescue their friend. They were gone for two days when Janet felt the first detectable signs of labor.

"Oh no you don't." Janet said as she rubbed her swollen stomach. "Not yet little girl. Not until Sam gets back."

The attack had come out of nowhere, separating the team before they could reach the Stargate. Jack and Bra'tac had been helping an injured Teal'c. Jonas had been snatched by the collar of his shirt and hauled to cover by Ishta. Sam ducked for cover and began laying ground cover for the others. The contingent of Jaffa broke off into three teams to follow. Sam had no choice but to retreat. A staff blast grazed her left arm as she ran for the tree line, the pain causing her to swallow a howl of pain. Once in the trees Sam was able to move easier than the large heavily armored Jaffa. Once she was sure she could stop to catch her breath she did so, slumping against a tree. Her mind was racing, working out a plan. Reconnecting with the others was priority, then gain access to the Stargate, and go home. Good plan. After eyeballing her wound she pulled a medkit from a pocket on her vest and applied a dressing to stem the bleeding. She decided against anything to numb the pain, she needed a clear head.

Janet was on maternity leave so there were more then a few surprised faces as she made her way to Hammond's office. She did her best to smile and give off the air of everything being all right, but it was a struggle. She had a bad feeling, one she couldn't explain, and it was getting harder to ignore that the cramping she'd been feeling was in fact early stage contractions. Tapping on the General's door Janet gave him a smile as she asked, "Got a moment, Sir?"

"Doctor, what are you doing here?" Hammond asked as he quickly got to his feet.

He came towards her as if to help her over to a chair but she waved him off. "I was hoping to find Sam had returned, Sir."

"Not yet I'm afraid." Hammond said with a frown.

"They should have been back by now, Sir." Janet decided she'd take that seat after all.

Hammond nodded. "And I'm sure they're doing everything they can to get back."

For the most part Sam was able to evade the Jaffa tracking her. She even took out a couple when she had the chance. She'd added some nasty gashes and bruises to the staff blast wound, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. As night fell and she grew tried from running and blood loss, she made one misstep trying to get to a hiding place where she could rest and ended up smacking her head pretty hard. She was only out for a few minutes but when she came too and her eyes focused she began to scramble backwards up the ravine she'd just fallen down.

"Easy Sam." Daniel said softly, a warm reassuring smile on his face. He crouched down so they were eyes to eye and reached out his hand. "It's ok, you're ok."

Sam closed her eyes tight and shook her head but all that did was make her head hurt worse.

When Sam opened her eyes Daniel's smile was the one that said he found something funny. "Still here."

"Daniel?" Sam couldn't believe what she was seeing, who she was seeing.

"Hi Sam." Daniel gave a little wave.

"What… What's going on?" Sam asked while fighting off the panic bubbling up inside.

"What?" Daniel teased. "Can't a guy just drop in to say hello to one of his best friends?"

Sam stared at him in disbelief. "Now? You choose now to come by and have coffee?"

Daniel moaned softly. "Man I miss coffee."

"Daniel." Sam scolded.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop." Daniel said easily. "You need to get home, Sam."

Sam glared at him. Apparently ascending had made him think he was amusing when it had just kind of made him a prick.

"I'm not stating the obvious, Sam." Daniel reassured. "You really do need to get home. Now."

There was something in his eyes, in his tone. She knew without doubt why he was suddenly there. "Janet."

Janet refused to go home. Something had gone wrong, she could feel it; Sam was in trouble. She wasn't going anywhere until Sam walked through the Stargate. She set herself up in their shared on base quarters and continued to hide the fact that her labor was slowly progressing. She did everything she could think of to calm the baby, she talked, sang, hummed as if the baby had any more control of this than she did. She wasn't doing this without Sam. She wasn't doing this with Sam on some other world in danger. She refused. Standing by the small table Janet had a white knuckled hold on the chair as the strongest contraction yet hit. Janet hissed out a slow breathe before inhaling and saying, "Listen to me little girl, we're not doing this just yet, understand?"

"I don't think she's listening." Daniel said from the other side of the table.

Janet's head whipped up and she stared with wide brown eyes. "Daniel?"

"It's going to be ok, Janet." He reassured her. "Sam's coming."

"Oh Daniel." Tears welled in Janet's eyes as she looked at him. He was wearing tan khakis, a cream polo shirt, and a warm caring smile. It was the warm white light that raided from him that told her he wasn't really there, but knowing she wasn't really seeing him didn't stop her from saying, "I'm so sorry."

Daniel got out of the chair and went to her. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "You did everything you could Janet. Stop blaming yourself. This was my choice. You did everything right, everything you could."

She was startled by the fact that she could actually physically feel him hugging her, but that quickly melted away as she gladly accepted his comfort. Sam had been mostly angry over what happened while she'd felt more guilt. It was her job to save their lives and she hadn't been able to save Daniel.

"You might want to tell someone you're in labor, Janet." Daniel said as he stepped back so he could look at her.

She shook her head. "I can't, I won't do this without Sam."

She had to get home to Janet and that was that. She needed to get back to the Stargate. If she could manage to dial home she could request backup, maybe even make it through herself. It was tearing her up inside, the thought of leaving without the others. They never left anyone behind, but going back and sending reinforcements wasn't leaving anyone behind. There were still guards on the Stargate. She could never get them all on her own, but maybe she could weed them down a bit before rushing in, but how? She could lure one off and shoot him but the sound of her P90 or even her sidearm would draw the attention of the others.

"Whatever you're going to do you need to do it quickly, Sam." Daniel said, appearing beside her. "Janet isn't going to be able to hold out much longer."

"Is she alright?" Sam whispered.

"For now." Daniel answered. "But if she keeps refusing to give in to the labor she and the baby could both end up in distress."

It was now than. There was no other choice. She threw a grenade to take out one or two if she were lucky, and so she could get the attention of the others. Then she moved as quickly as she could away from that position. Jaffa began charging towards her, firing at her. She took another hit but kept moving until she could drop down and fire her P90. Apparently doubling back to the Gate had been the general idea because as soon as the Jaffa charged towards Sam Jonas came out of hiding, running for the DHD while Ishta engaged in hand to hand combat with the remaining guards. A second round of P90 fire came from the other side of the Gate, the Jaffa who'd been coming after Sam were startled, and turned towards the second gunman. It gave Sam an opening to get closer to the Gate. She ran for it as hard as she could, taking out a Jaffa that was coming up behind Ishta and one aiming for Jonas.

"What took you so long?" Jonas asked teasingly.

"Shut up and dial Jonas!" Sam ordered as she laid cover for him. When the wormhole was established she reached for her radio while Jonas put in their iris code. "Coming in hot! I repeat, SG1 coming in hot!"

On the other side Hammond was preparing. The alarm went off and without thinking Janet went running to the Gate room. The first ones through were Jonas and Istha, followed by Bra'tac and Teal'c. Janet couldn't help herself, she began calling out orders to the medics and medical teams. It gave her something to focus on other than Sam not coming through the Gate yet. Staff blasts came through and she was forced to duck more than once. The stress and anxiety of the moment, the flood of adrenaline kicked things into high gear for Janet. She was hit with the strongest contraction yet just as Jack and Sam came through the Gate.

Jack helped Sam down the ramp has he ordered the iris closed. When he saw Janet he couldn't help but ask, "Doc? What the hell are you…"

Janet went pale, her skin covered in a sheen of sweat, and she nearly doubled over.

"Janet?" Sam pulled away from Jack and stumbled over to her girlfriend.

"You're hurt." Janet grunted through the pain.

"I'm fine." Sam lied. "Janet, you're in labor!"

They were both rushed to the infirmary. Janet was put in one of the few private medical rooms and Sam had to be ordered to have herself treated. Once she was patched up enough that her injuries wouldn't cause her any real trouble she went to Janet and that's where she stayed. It wasn't what they'd planned. They were going to do a home birth so they could have the privacy of being a couple, savoring and experiencing everything together. Where they could express their feelings for each other and what was happening, so Sam could hold her daughter and admit freely that she was her daughter. It took a while for either to realize that it was Janet's most trusted civilian nurse who was acting as midwife. The knowing little smile she'd given them let them know they were making things as secure and private as they could. It wasn't what they planned, it wasn't perfect, but it was going to be ok.

Several hours later Sam watched in complete awe and amazement as Janet held their little girl in her arms. The baby was beautiful and Sam found herself reaching out to touch her a lot just to make sure she was real.

"Breath Sam." Janet said gently when she looked up to see Sam staring again.

"I can't believe this is real." Sam said softly. "That she's here, that she's real, that I almost missed it."

"We'll talk about your timing later." Janet said with a smile that was pure happiness and bliss mixed with pure exhaustion.

Sam walked over and sat gently on the edge of the bed so she could look down into their little girl's face. "I've never seen anything so amazing."

"Not even the Stargate?" Janet asked.

"Pales in comparison." Sam said honestly.

Janet nodded her head in agreement and then said, "We wouldn't have her without the Stargate."

"True." Sam replied. Her mind flashed back to her visions, the voice in her head, because that couldn't have really been Daniel telling her to get home to Janet. "And we wouldn't have a working Stargate without Daniel."

It was strange, wasn't it? When she was feeling so afraid, so worried, about Sam and about the baby, about being alone when she gave birth, it had been Daniel she'd imagined? "Sam, what do think of naming her…"

"Danielle?" Sam cut in.

Janet's face lit up and she nodded since she couldn't speak past the lump in her throat.

"I think it's perfect." Sam replied.

Janet looked down to find bright eyes staring back at her and she smiled. "Hello Danielle Samantha Frasier."

"Welcome to the adventure, kid." Sam added.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam was use to going without sleep. She could work for days with nothing more than twenty-minute power naps every thirty hours or so, and that was under good conditions. She could, and had, gone longer with no sleep at all under extreme circumstances. But there was something totally different about sleep deprivation when an infant causes it. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool instead of a brain, thinking was hard, and functioning was harder. When she went to bed the simple act of laying down felt like the ultimate luxury. At least she wasn't suffering alone. She knew Janet was in the same boat and even a little worse off because she was Dani's supply of milk.

Despite how tired Sam was she wouldn't trade the last few weeks for anything. She'd taken vacation days so she could be home with Janet and Dani while Janet was on maternity leave. Sam was in awe of the tiny new being she was watching develop into a person right before her eyes. Dani had gone from a helpless newborn whose only concerns were food, sleep and cleanliness to a bright eyed six week old who's discovered her fingers, an ability to grasp at things, and a love of hear mama's voice. Sam's new favorite thing was watching Janet cuddle with Dani while singing to her, though she did question Janet's choices of songs from Chicago, the musical not the band, and Tom Jones.

For the first time since Dani was born it was the warmth of the sun that woke Sam. She stretched, mindful not to disturb the smaller body beside her even in the moments before full consciousness, and turned her head to look at the clock on the nightstand. It took a few seconds for the digital numbers to register. Sitting up with a jolt Sam reached over to shake Janet awake, "Janet, it's nine thirty, wake up!"

Janet grumbled and snuggled further into her pillow and the blankets.

"Janet, we slept all night." Sam said as she started getting out of bed. Sam, being Sam, had done a lot of reading and research about babies, and she knew babies as young as Dani didn't sleep through the night.

Dark eyes popped open instantly. It took a few moments before Janet's thoughts caught up with her but once she was thinking she was moving to get out of bed as well. "She's to young to sleep through the night."

Sam smiled as she handed Janet her robe. "Maybe she's gifted and she's going to pick up on things before other kids her age."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Janet replied as they made their way to the nursery. They'd done the room in pink and brown, with a turtle theme that Cassie picked out. Over the crib in big puffy letters was Dani's name, and around the room were little memos from the people in their lives who loved the little girl. Jack have given her a stuff dog in SG1 BDUs. It even had a pair a sunglasses just like the one's Jack wore, and Sam still had no idea where he'd found the tiny P90 it carried. Hammond had a mobile made with soft plushy representations of a large Prometheus surrounded by smaller 302s. Teal'c had asked Ishta to make several of the woven dreamcatcher like talismans her tribe of female Jaffa posted around their camps, the ones that meant strength, wisdom, courage, and hope. Sam had put one on each wall; hope hanging just above Dani's name. Jonas had gotten her a dream machine that projected either constellations or fish on the ceiling and walls while playing soft music or ocean sounds. Daniel's book was on top of the short three-shelf bookcase with his favorite fountain pen, which Sam sort of nicked from his office. Several pages had already been written in using that pen, and many more would soon follow.

The blanket Daniel had given them should have been in the crib but wasn't because Dani wasn't in her crib. There was a flash of panic in Sam's chest that felt like someone shoving a hot iron straight through her. There was a phantom of fear that never really went away for Sam, a fear that someone would find out the truth and take Dani to use her the way Conrad had tried to use Sam, or Nirrti had used Cassandra. Janet shared the same concerns but without Sam's personal experience she was able to shake off that moment of fear and panic and think clearly a little quicker than Sam.

After checking Cassie's room and finding it empty as well they headed downstairs. Sure enough there were their girls, in the living room safe and sound. Cassie was sitting on the couch with her feet propped up so her knees were drawn up. Dani was on her sister's thighs, both little hands gripped around Cassie's index fingers. Cassie was moving Dani's arms in gentle stretches while telling her a story. Cassie liked telling Dani about how Sam had saved her on Hanka and how Janet had protected her when she'd been sick.

When Cassie looked up to see her Mom and Sam she smiled at them. "Feeling better?"

It took a moment but Janet realized what had happened and she beamed a proud smile at Cassie. "You took care of her all night?"

"You two were so tired." Cassie said as she picked her sister up from her thighs so she could hand her to Janet. "Sam put prune juice in her tea last night and drank it without flinching, and you put the cordless phone in the dishwasher. We need a new cordless phone by the way." She smiled as she watched Janet cuddle the baby. "So I turned off the baby monitor, set the port-a-crib up in my room and kept her with me all night."

Sam flopped onto the couch beside the teen and pulled Cassie into her arms, nearly into her lap, as she hugged her. "You are an amazing kid."

"I know." Cassie said with a playful grin.

The first thing Sam did when she went back to work was put a picture of Dani on her desk right next to the picture she had of Cassie. Officially Sam was Dani's godmother, with Jack being her godfather, but if one looked closely enough they could see Sam in the girl. Dani's hair had darkened over her nearly two months of life. Janet said it would be a beautiful chestnut brown when she was older. She also had Janet's tea stained complexion. She had Sam's nose, and when she smiled she had Janet's smile with Sam's dimples. The most telling part though was Dani's eyes. She had Sam's bright blue eyes, in color and shape. They were eyes that were beautiful on the fair blonde but outright striking on her dark haired daughter. One look into the child's eyes and one could see Sam. Thankfully no one brought it up and the rumor about Dani's parentage gave them a bit of a safety net. Scuttlebutt was that Doctor Fraiser's baby girl was Daniel's.

There was no such thing as easing back into work when it came to the SGC. Janet had been back to work for all of two days when Jonas started having visions of the future. She'd grown to really like the young man so when she discovered a brain tumor most likely caused by Nirrti she once again regretted that it hadn't been her to kill the goa'uld. Despite the guilt she felt for going back to work and leaving Dani with a nanny, and the ache of missing her baby, Janet loved being back in her infirmary. Even the frustration she felt over Jonas' refusal to treat the tumor was a welcome sensation. As Jonas continued putting off having surgery Janet found herself fighting the desire to smack the young man. Not only was he putting his own life on the line, he'd managed to talk Sam out of a mission because he said she'd get hurt on it and then Sam ended up getting badly hurt right there on base. Janet had to finally put her foot down at the eleventh hour, and took Jonas into surgery. Having a member of SG1 recovering in her infirmary finally let Janet feel like she was really back.

During Jonas' recovery Sam was able to get caught up on her lab work. She only worked late twice and both times it nearly killed her to be in her lab and not at home, which was totally weird for her. Her work still excited her, it always would, but her Dad had been right. Discovering something new out in the universe still filled Sam with awe, but it didn't make her feel the way she felt when she discovered something new about her daughter. Dani had changed Sam's perspective on a lot of things. When she first started at the SGC is was all about exploring and finding new tech to play with. Then her work became keeping Cassie, and then Janet safe. Now with Dani that desire was intensified because Dani was brand new and had a whole life stretched out in front of her. Sam had to make sure that wide-open future was always there for Dani. That's what was on Sam's mind as she stepped trough the Gate to Abydos.

What passed through Janet's mind more sharply then ever before was the fear that there was a chance Sam would go through that Gate and never come back. There had always been some level of anxiety, even back when they were just friends, but now it was almost overwhelming because she wasn't just worried for her sake, but for Dani's. She didn't want to raise their daughter alone, she didn't want to tell Dani stories of Sam; she wanted Dani to experience Sam, to know her other mother. But like Sam, Janet knew the importance of keeping the planet safe, of defeating those who would do them harm. So when Sam went off to find the Eye of Ra Janet could do little more than wish her good luck and kiss her goodbye in the privacy of her office before she left for the Gate room.

They'd lost the Eye f Ra but had saved a tablet that according to Daniel, who Sam was still surprised to find out hadn't been a figment of her imagination while trying to get back to Janet, was a clue on how to find the lost city of the Ancients. While Jonas worked on translating it Sam did what she could to help keep tabs on Anubis. When she would get home at night she would spend hours just watched Dani sleep.

"Hey." Janet said softly as she came up behind Sam in the doorway of the nursery. She put her hand on Sam's back and began rubbing circles. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam answered. She was quiet for a moment and then added, "I'm kind of envious of all those parents out there who don't know what we know."

Janet nodded her understanding. "It's scary." She agreed. "But you're out there fighting to keep her safe, so it's a little less scary, for me at least."

"You have a lot of faith in me." Sam said softly.

"I always have." Janet replied as she leaned into Sam.

Sam put her arm around her girlfriend and sighed softly. "I have a feeling I'm going to need that faith. Things are going to get harder before they get better."

The last thing Sam expected to find on their search for the Lost City was Daniel. Jonas had spent every waking moment working on the tablet they retrieved from Abydos. He thought he had figured it out, that it wasn't the Lost City but the City of the Lost. He thought they had a gate address so several teams were sent to explore the ruins found on the planet after sending a MALP. When one of the backup teams reported finding something of interest, a living human Daniel who didn't know who he was, wasn't what any of them were expecting.

When Jack failed at getting through to Daniel Sam gave it a try. She did her best to convince him that he was a good man, a kind, compassionate man who more than likely was kicked out by the Ancients for the very humanity that had attracted him to them in the first place. He was finding it hard to believe so Sam smiled at him and said, "Come back with us, Daniel. I'll show you just how much I believe what I just said. You are a good man, and if that's a flaw to the Ancients then that shows badly on them, not you."

He promised to think about it.

Something she said must have rang true because Daniel came home with them. He was quickly whisked off to medical for a complete exam. Janet had been warned that he was coming but when he walked in it still took her by surprise. "Daniel."

He seemed a little uncomfortable at first but there seemed to be something about Janet, like there had been with Sam that put him at ease. The logical medical part of Janet was telling her this was impossible. She'd watched Daniel's body rot away from radiation poisoning. She watched the essence of him leave his body and then leave this world. Now he was sitting on one of her gurneys watching her. His skin was warm to the touch, his pulse stead and strong, the sound of his heart thunderous in her ears. When the results started coming back from the tests she ran she could hardly believe her eyes. Everything matched up perfectly to the tests and scans Janet had run at Daniel's last complete physical, the one she herself gave him just days before SG1 went to Jonas' home world.

Later while sitting at her desk with pen in hand Janet stared at the blank form in front of her trying to find the words to write her report on Daniel. She was so lost in her task that she didn't hear the knock on her office door, nor did she notice Sam walk in. It wasn't until she felt the warmth of Sam's hand on her shoulder that Janet blinked and looked up at the blonde.

"Hey," Sam said gently.

"Hi." Janet replied as she reached up to put her hand on Sam's.

"No need to ask how you are about the whole Daniel thing." Sam said as she looked down into Janet's eyes. "You're just as thrown for a loop as the rest of us."

Janet was quiet for a moment as she tried to find a way to explain how she felt. "We are surrounded by science and technology, both human and alien. We are fully aware of the influence the goa'uld had on religion and social ideals. It would be so easy with what we know, what we do, to write all of that off. And yet, Sam, you and I have a child together and now Daniel's back from the dead. These things are the very definition of miraculous."

"I think sometimes we forget that one of the biggest parts of our jobs is to believe in the unbelievable." Sam said with a soft smile.

"This is pretty unbelievable." Janet replied and returned Sam's smile with one of her own.

"But he's Daniel, right?" Sam asked.

Janet nodded. "He's Daniel."

The threat level was to high for Sam to follow through on what she said to Daniel in his tent. Things moved ahead at a quick pace and before she knew it she was in a F-302 waiting for the signal to take out Anubis' super weapon. Sam was able to destroy the weapon but before they could get Daniel and Jonas off Anubis' ship it jumped into hyperspace. Sam sat in the cockpit of her fighter thinking, not again, she couldn't loose him again. When Daniel and Jonas ringed into the warehouse on Langara Sam wasn't sure if she wanted to hug Daniel or slap him.

In the end Anubis escaped but they managed to deal him a crippling blow. Jonas was shot in action but it wasn't anything Janet couldn't fix. On his way to the Gate room after deciding to go back to Langara Jonas stopped by the infirmary to say goodbye. He tapped on her office door and smiled. "Got a minute, Doc?"

"For you, I think I can find one." Janet replied as she stood up and walked around her desk. Without thinking she fussed over his wound to make sure it was healing.

Jonas couldn't help but smile. "I just wanted to say goodbye and to thank you."

"Patching you guys up is what I do, Jonas." Janet replied. "You don't have to thank me but it's nice to hear."

"I am grateful for the medical care but that's not what I mean." Jonas said softly. "You were the first person here to accept me. You made me feel welcome. You let me be your friend. Thank you."

Janet hugged the young man. "We'll always be friends, Jonas."

"I hope so." Jonas replied. When they stepped away from the hug he smiled softly. "Give Dani a hug for me?"

"I will, I promise." Janet said with a nod.

Now that they had a moment to catch their breathes Sam was finally able to get to showing Daniel just how much he meant to them. His memories had started trickling back slowly but it still frustrated him that so much of his past was still a hazy blur. Sam hoped knowing he was loved would help. Sam knocked on the doorframe of Daniel's office and smiled, "How are you doing?"

"I'm good." Daniel replied. "I think."

Stepping into the room Sam moved closer to the table Daniel was sitting at. "Its all in there, Daniel." She saw the doubt in his eyes. "Do you remember when I said I'd show you how much you meant to us?" She smiled before turning towards the door. "Janet."

Janet walked in carrying Dani who was all wide-eyed wonder as she took in her surroundings. They didn't bring the baby on base often but neither she nor Sam could stand it any longer. They wanted Daniel to meet his namesake. Sam gave her a huge grin as she handed the baby to her.

Turning to Daniel with Dani in her arms Sam said, "Daniel Jackson meet Danielle Fraiser." Sam beamed as she waved Dani's little hand at Daniel while nuzzling her nose against the baby's neck. "Dani, meet your Uncle Daniel."

Daniel took the baby in, his eyes darting between her and her mothers. Hearing her name, something warm bubbled up inside him. He reached out a hand to the baby and Dani didn't even hesitate in grabbing hold of his fingers. He smiled. "Dani?"

"Without you and Sam making the Gate work we wouldn't have her." Janet said softly. "So we named her after you and I named her after Sam. Danielle Samantha Fraiser." She was still holding on to the hope that some day she'd get to add Carter to that list of names. "You're not just our friend, Daniel. You're family."

He was quiet for a long time as he played with the baby in Sam's arms. She was tiny, perfect, and favored both of them. He smiled. "I told you she'd be as pretty as her moms."

Janet's eyes went a little wide and then she gave him a huge beaming smile. "You did."

He silently asked permission from Sam to hold her and Sam easily handed Dani to him. Daniel had tears in his eyes as he smiled down at the baby with his name. "I'm so happy to meet you Dani. I didn't think I was going to get to, ya know." He kissed her forehead and smiled at his friends. "Ok, this makes getting deascended worth it."

"Welcome home, Daniel." Sam said and she kissed his cheek.

"No more dying, ok?" Janet added as she took her turn to welcome him home.

Daniel chuckled which made Dani gurgle out a little baby laugh of her own. "I'll do my best."


End file.
